Path crack closes Kelvin Walkway

A SECTION of a popular riverside path has been closed amid fears for public safety.

Part of the Kelvin Walkway, stretching from the Botanic Gardens to the Wyndford flats in Maryhill, has been fenced off after a crack appeared in the pavement last week.

Popular with commuters, cyclists, dog-walkers and runners, the path has been described as "essential to Glasgow" by a local community group who are concerned over access to the area.

A spokesman from Friends of the River Kelvin, a local preservation group, said: "It is part of the national cycle network and it's a main commuter route for a lot of cyclists leading up to Bearsden and Milngavie.

"In summer, it is used a lot for recreation, when people go for walks and social cycling.

"At the moment, commuters are diverting through Wyndford but the walkway is essential to Glasgow."

"There has been a suggestion of subsidence there for a while, and the council have, quite correctly, taken the decision for public safety to close it off."

A path on the opposite bank of the river is also closed, and is yet to be repaired.

The spokesman added: "This really is the only path along the river at this point which is open to the public.

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"There is not an alternative, so it is a much greater priority than the previously collapsed path."

Glasgow City Council have confirmed that the area has been closed off due to the crack, and an assessment will be carried.

Despite the area being closed off, the Evening Times has learned that some people have been moving the safety barriers and using the walkway regardless, possibly due to the lack of alternative access to the area.

Councillor John Letford, who looks after the Maryhill and Kelvin ward, said: "I use the area regularly myself as I'm not a car owner, especially during spring and summer as it's a good way of getting about my ward, but my main concern is about public safety - that overrides everything else.

"I hope it is a temporary closure, I'm not happy that an amenity has been closed, but if it has been assessed as being dangerous, it is for the best that it is closed just now until a mechanism where we can get it back up and operational is worked out."

A council spokesman said: "There are indications of recent movement along the walkway and an adjacent wall.

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"In the interest of safety, the affected section has been closed while we determine the cause and whether movement is ongoing."

hannah.rodger @eveningtimes.co.uk

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